Kong Sham Western Highway

Kong Sham Western Highway, formerly known as the Deep Bay Link[1] is a highway in Hong Kong. It is 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi) long and has three lanes in each direction. Its northern end is at Ngau Hom Shek, near Deep Bay, and its southern end is at Lam Tei, in Tuen Mun District.[2] Together with the Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Corridor, it forms the Route 10 of the Hong Kong Strategic Route and Exit Number System and provides road access from Hong Kong to the mainland. The link itself consists of 108,000 m² of deck space over 3,014 segments.[3]

Kong Sham Western Highway
Part of Route 10
A flyover of Kong Sham Western Highway crossing Castle Peak Road in Lam Tei.
Route information
Maintained by Highways Department
Length	5.4 km (3.4 mi)
Existed	1 July 2007–present
Major junctions
North end	Ngau Hom Shek, Yuen Long District
	2 in total; Route 9 at Lam Tei
South end	Lam Tei, Tuen Mun District
Highway system
Transport in Hong Kong Routes Roads and Streets

Kong Sham Western Highway
Traditional Chinese	港深西部公路
Transcriptions
Deep Bay Link
Traditional Chinese	后海灣幹線
Simplified Chinese	后海湾干线
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hòu Hǎiwān Gànxiàn Yue: Cantonese Jyutping hau6 hoi2 waan1 gon3 sin3

View from Yuen Long Highway toward the Kong Sham Western Highway and Lau Fau Shan.

History

The road was built as initiative from the Crosslinks Further Study, which highlighted the need for another vehicular cross-border link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. At the date of the study (2001), there were three existing vehicular border crossings, located at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok.[4] At that time, these links were nearing saturation and were expected to reach their maximum handling capacity by 2006. As a result, the government of Hong Kong proposed the Shenzhen Western Corridor and Deep Bay Link as an additional vehicular border crossing to provide additional cross-border road infrastructure.

The Environmental Protection Department of the Government of Hong Kong carried out an environmental impact assessment, and found that the environmental impact of the Deep Bay Link and associated carriageways will not be significantly adverse. The assessment however noted that Deep Bay Link might cause localized environmental impact, further detailed in the Feasibility Study for Additional Cross-border Links. The Deep Bay Link was therefore given the necessary environmental permit from the department.[5]

The link's approved project cost is HK$4,600 million.[6] The construction began in June 2003, and was commissioned in July 2007. The construction of the carriageway was split into two parts; northern and southern sections. Gammon Construction (at that time incorporated as "Gammon Skanska Limited", partially named after Skanska, a co-owner of the company) was the principal contractor for the northern section, and built around 4 km (2.5 mi) of the carriageway.[7] China State Construction joint venture was in charge of the southern section.[8]

Interchanges

Kong Sham Western Highway
Northbound exits	Exit number	Southbound exits
continues on as Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Corridor
End Kong Sham Western Highway		Start Kong Sham Western Highway
Ha Tsuen Ha Tsuen Road All non-permit holders	1	Ha Tsuen Ha Tsuen Road
no exit	3	Tuen Mun, Kowloon Yuen Long Highway
Start Kong Sham Western Highway		End Kong Sham Western Highway End of Route 10 intersects with Yuen Long Highway

Landmarks

The carriageway originates in the Lam Tei area, and passes through Ha Tsuen. Ling Lo Tsz, a Chinese temple, is accessible from a branch road off the carriageway.

See also

• List of expressways in Hong Kong

References

1. Tuen Mun Western Bypass. Project Profile, Highways Department, November 2007. p.1
2. "Deep Bay Link - North / Segments - Hong Kong" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
3. "Bridge Construction Technology". Bridge Construction - VSL. 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
4. "Shenzhen Western Corridor and Deep Bay Link" (PDF). Panel on Transport - Legislative Council. August 31, 2001. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
5. "Deep Bay Link". Environmental Protection Department, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. August 31, 2001. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
6. "Deep Bay Link". 'Highways Department of The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
7. "Deep Bay Link - Northern Section, Hong Kong". Gammon HK. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
8. "Deep Bay Link". Bekk Solutions. 2009. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.

External links

• Geographic data related to Kong Sham Western Highway at OpenStreetMap